Cooling system for continuous casting molds



Oct. 14, 1952 I. ROSS! 2,613,411

COOLING SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Sept. 30, 1947 6Sheets-Sheet l WWM A Tram/Eye 0a. 14, 1952 I. ROSS! 3,

COOLING SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Sept. 30, 1947 6Sheets-Sheet 2 I] 111 l i l lllllllll I IIIIH I N V EN TOR. JEVZM? 9086fOct. 14, 1952 oss 2,613,411

COOLING SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Sept. 30, 1947 6Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR. AQVf/VG' 17086! A rroigwz a Oct. 14, 1952 1.ROSS! COOLING SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledSept. 30, 1947 INVENTOR. 119mm R0625! AYTOGAEYS Oct. 14, 1952 oss OOLINGSYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 30,1947 jNE/E/VTQQ 17mm 5 085! By WW Oct. 14, 1952 l. ROSSI COOLING SYSTEMFOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLDS Filed Sept. 50. 1947 6 Sheets-Sheet 6lgV/A/G 50861 By @zzzw v5.4

ATTOQAEYS' Patented Oct. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENrOFF cs COOLINGSYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MQLDS Irving Rossi, Morristown, N. .L,assignor to Continuous Metalcast Corporation,'- Wilmington; Del., acorporation oi Delaware Application September so, 1947, Serial No.776,936

1 Claim. 1

My present invention relates tocontinuous casting systems and moreparticularly to acooling method and system for a continuous castingmetal mold so designed that the water circulation around the mold ishorizontal rather than vertical. In fact, my invention is directed to astructure and method wherein the water circulation around the mold is inthe form of a horizontal sheet of water guided around the mold byappropriate guides and caused-to circulate properly into contact withthe mold by appropriate bailies, the said substantially horizontal sheetof water being a fast moving large volume sheet with no verticalcomponent of motion.

Heretofore in the casting of ingots and billets, a well as in continuouscasting operations, the cooling system for the mold where water was usedas the cooling-fluid was one'in-which the water was generally introducedat the 'top of the mold and caused to flow or circulate downwardly tothe bottom of the mold where it was discharged.

some prior systems simply permitted the water to flow downwardly in thecooling jacket while others utilized arrangements of baffles or evenspiral tube arrangement which gave-the water flow some horizontalcomponent although its essential direction was vertical from the top tothe bottom of the mold.

In other cooling systems, water was introduced at the bottom of the moldjacket, and in some systems water was introduced at the center of themold jacket and permitted to gravitate downwardly and then to riseupwardly in order to provide a coolin operation.

In continuous casting systems, metal is poured into a mold, the metalusually being led, down in a spout which enters below the top level ofthe liquid in the mold, thus obviating splashing which would otherwisecause turbulence in the liquid and resultant porosity in the casting.

The bottom of the mold is open. It thus'becomes necessary to freeze atleast the outer shell of the metal very rapidly so that the frozen shellwithin the mold will itself form a mold.

Consequently, it is usually desirable to have the outer shell of themetal cast in the continuous casting mold frozen before it has moveddown more than an inch or two from the top level of the metal in themold.

When the outer metal shell thus solidifies, it shrinks away from themold, solidifying gradually inwardly toward the center of the-billetbeing cast and forming a crater which holds the molten continuouslyfreezing toward each other, but'the crater is continuously reformedasthe metal moves down the mold v In contrast with ordinary castingprocesses, it is desirable in a continuous casting process to maintainuniform freezing throughout the entire solidification processand,'therefore', to obtain uniform heat transfer along theentire heightof the mold. i

At the bottom of the mold, the molten metal at the center of the apexmust be cooled by conduc tion through the entire frozen transverseweight of metal already solidified; while at the top of I the mold, theouter shell of the billet in contact with the mold wall should befrozen'almost instantaneously.

The shell should be-niaintai'ned in frozen conditionthroughout-theentire height of the mold as it passes therethrough,since-any-risein tempera ture of the shell maycause it to remelt. The

remelting of the metal of the billet may permit leaking throughof-eutectics of the alloy with a lower melting point than -the mainalloyto' produce exudationsor beads of molten metal on the surface-of'tlie'billet. These euctectic of the main'alloy appear'topierce theshellsmall beads and 'as' they" flow through these 'apertures, they carrywith them a volume of heat which in turn remelts the perimeter of thesmall opening causing it to enlarge and to permit further exudation orbleeding. If the opening be,-

comes too large then the-entire liquid center of the billetmay flow outand cause the complete disintegration of the shell at that particularnecessary to have any critical differences in tem-- perature atdifferent levelsof the mold but ratherrequires that the whole mold wallbe simultaneously'chilled and maintained in chilled condition atthelowest possible temperature.

This is in contra-distinction to single or noncontinuous castingOperations *where it is necesmetalin the mold. The sides ofthls craterare Saw, in order'toprev'ent porosity, cold shuts and cracks, tomaintain an elevated temperature at the bottom of the mold and,therefore, a correspondingly elevated temperature through the height ofthe mold.

The primary object of my invention is thus the provision of coolingmeans particularly adapted to a mold-for a continuous metal castingoperation wherein the cooling fluid, preferably water, is circulatedhorizontally in the form of a fast flowing horizontal sheet around themold.

Another object of my inventionis the provision of novel simplified flowcontrol and bafile means to provide an appropriate flow of horizontallydirected cooling fluid, the guiding means being also arranged to directthe cooling fluid against the side of the mold in order to obtainappropriate heat circulation.

Heretofore in the utilization of cooling means and jackets in which thefiow of water was e's sentially vertical, the uniformity of cooling aifndfthe entire vertical distance of the mold asiwell as around the entireperimeter: of the mold was difficult and in fact almost impossible.

Another and important object of my invention therefore is the productionof uniform cool:- ing, around the entire vertical distance. of, the moldandwaround the entire perimeter of, the mold by utilization of a fastfiowinghorizontally moving sheet of water around the mold, the. rateofwatelj flow-being sov rapid that there will be very. little, riSQ...intemperaturer if any, as the waterrfiows aroundthe entire perimeter ofthe billet.

n'i i'der to. acc m i h i eeoinsmy ventioncontemplates the utilizationof a water.

intake chamber adjacent the coolingjacket, the

La-we eri ek cham r b in equal inheieh to the full heightof the -cooling ,jacket. The cooling, water is received under appropriatepressure inthewater intake chamber; a vertical slot the full height ofthe cooling jacket forms a. communicating path between. the waterintakechainberfand the water jacket. Theiwater underpressure enters the.vrticalslot. and moves, as a f'shfe'etf f of water. in "a horizontaldirection around'th'e mold exiting through'a similar'verticalsljot intoaj'watero'utlet chamber which .is placed alongside the. watervintakechamber."

"()v'ving,v to'the rapid rate of flow of the sheet of water. in ahorizontal direction around the mold, its temperature is. raised verylittle and the exhaust water taken from the water outlet chamber ma beutilized for further cooling purposes and thus may, if desired, bedirected to a cooling jacket or boot surrounding the portion of thebillet which exits from the mold.

Appropriate preferably vertical baffles are providedinthecoolirig'jacket, being s'oarranged as to cause turbulence inthe'sheet of water moving rapidly around the mold thereby directing thewater against the side of the mold and increasing the heat exchangebetween the water and the. mold.

Thus, another object ofemyinventionisthe provision of. verticalwaterintake, and outlet.- chambers alongside eachv other. at oneside. of themold with means forcausingthe water. to. enter from the water intakechamber into-the cooling jacketin the initial form .of a. sheet, ofwater the full heightof the. mold, the water moving. around theflmoldand. exiting to the.

over. .thevertieal height of the mold, another .ob-

4 slot between the water intake chamber and the cooling jacket.

My invention is primarily intended for use in connection with thecontinuous casting, or semicontinuous casting, operations in which thelength of the casting is greater than the length of the mold andtheobjectto beachieved is the more rapid rate of heatremoval commensuratewith the alloy being cast, in order to obtain the highest possiblecasting rate.

Inthecaseof individual castings, the problem of. appropriate coolingoperations is readily resolved since an individual casting brings intothe. mold a given-quantity of heat which need be removed only once,whereas continuous castingrenews the heat in the mold at a constant ni me e V In the case of individual casting, it is inadvisable toremove heattoo rapidly from the metal first falling into the mold, otherwise, themetal fl win he after. to. .-fil .;upth mold will n prope weld or, mergeith. he. metala eady in t e. mo d; and-i fihis-weldins doe noto nlthelresultinel c sti a-isz mner ec at t h l u e nal cra ks o rqsi y- Beau e o is, th a es coo ing. Q m tal i suc nd vidu l as i g ust be mu hlowe n n. th e with .cqntiauqus. as in r-t i easqm, eff are made inv hecase of nd vidua testi its. antra the; em e at re of h weie hoth as .aeere matt t o s duriaejitsmes e ngest he-mela- It videntthettl!lpaserhe-t ave e i the mold the greater; H the w rin. i s-Mel?! thrh-the me In continuous castn p is irab e a? as e. 5.39

im mft nt e h m ld q iz- 3. 1 r iedi m r sp s sible n j rd t mien. Y-ihec l a fie 'It thus becomes a primary object of my inventionie l Q.:.- 2;W 2li teamma heri n l r u d he-wrestli g. it m s casting mold ratherthan vertically With-this hori-.. zontal circulation-got a,vertic al'sheet, then postu-. latinga'inold 121 h with an inn'erliner 12" in'di'ameter'and aco lingjacketlf' thick, the water has my to 'cover a'cross-section l2"x1 If the same. .volume;..of' water. were to passvertically over the-face'of the mold,.then. it would be required. tofill-a ro s section'12.x1rx 1 or more than three that its ratelof,flow-would be. correspondingly reduced. As the rate of heat absorptionis directly proportionatato the rate of water flow,

then it follows'gtl at bymyIinvention it is possible to obtainthe samecooling .eifect. with one-.

third less water, always providing. that the rate.

a on. y eiaa t nclinl p hq pn ala flow water cooling to continuous,casting molds.

of: various shapes as well as to multiple billet continuous castingmolds. I r v The foregoingand many other objects ofmy invention willallibecomeapparent in the follow-. ing description an drawingsv in.which:

be, he heatabs rbe a s s fhw v n t esht'he area which means;

illustrate the operation of my novel cooling system and method.

Figure 2 is an elevation partly in section on line 2-2 of Fig. 4 of acontinuous casting mold embodying my novel cooling system showingprimarily the utilization of the tapered slot in order to obtain uniformwater flow.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 taken at 90 from the view ofFigure 2 showing the application of my novel cooling system tocontinuous casting mold.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a, continuous casting mold embodying mynovel cooling system.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the battlesutilized in my novel cooling system.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 66 ofFigure 5 looking in the direction of the arrows showing the relationshipbetween the bailies of my novel cooling system and the remainder of thecooling jacket.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view in perspective corresponding to the lowerportion of Figure 1, showing the water inlet for the cooling boot belowthe continuous casting mold.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view in perspective correspondingapproximately to the center portion of Figure 1 showing the coolingwater outlet for the cooling boot below the continuous casting mold.

Figure 9 is a horizontal cross-section through an adjustable dual slabmold showing acooling system adapted for rectangular slabs made by acontinuous casting process.

Figure 10 is a horizontal cross-section through a multiple billet moldfor a. continuous casting process utilizing the principles. of myinvention.

Referringflrst...to Figures 1 to 4, the continuous casting mold. isessentially. a copper liner [0 supported in the, opening. I l. of: thebase [2. A water jacket I3 spaced-approximately l-'from the copper linerl0 surrounds.- thecopper liner in defining; a vertical channel l4.around the copper liner or mold ML, The: vertical. channel I4 issubstantially equal in height. tothe mold and is preferably of theorderof 1." wide.

A plurality of vertical baflles; l5. areprovided on the inner surface ofthe; jacket I3, the said baifles extending inwardly somewhat less thanhalf the width of the channel l4 or approximately in the case of achannel, 1" in width. The bailies are tapered as seen inFigures 5 and 6so that they are narrower attheir lower'end increasing the rate offlowand volume of water at the lower end of the chamberforpurposes abovedescribed. The crossrsectional width of the channel I4 should be such asto permit alarge volume of water to flow, at a. high rate therethrougharound the copper linerforming. the mold l0.

Thus, where appropriate water pressure is ob-- tainable the channel l4may be wider than 1";

but in a mold, Hi the order of 12." in diameter, it-

is preferred that the channel l4 should not'be narrower than aninch inhorizontalsection.

The water intake chamber and the water outlet chamber 2| are defined-bythe outer water box 22 mounted Onthesupport-SB, the-said box havingthecover 23. and the interiorverticalpar tition 24 separating the twochambers from each other. The partition extends-inwardlypast theverticalslots 25 andaZE in thewater jacket l2 almostgup to-thecopperliner [0 forming the mold, thereby dividing the. waterzinletand outletportions of the; cooling channel. from; each.

other as well as dividing the water intake and outlet chambers from eachother. The gap 2411 (Figures 2 and 5) is provided between the end ofpartition 24 and the outer surface of mold wall 10 to ensure thatcooling water will be directed to the portion of mold wall [0 adjacentthe partition 24. This avoids a dead spot on the mold wall and ensuresuniform cooling. The gap 24a is very narrow (of the order of or less)and thus does not interfere with the water flow herein described.

Also, baflies We and [5b on opposite sides of the partition are inclinedtoward the partition to ensure that the water splashes against and coolsthe partition and into the gap 24a. The water pressure is such thatleakage through gap 24a is negligible while at the same time, theexistence of gap 240. avoids a dead spot which would otherwise causeevaporation of zinc in a bronze casting.

The water pressure is preferably such that the entire volume of waterpasses through the chamher [4 in two seconds or less so that thetemperature rise in the water is of the order of only 25 or less.

The slots 25-and 26 are preferably tapered as shown in Figures 1 and 2in order to ensure uniform water flow through the cooling channel 14 atevery level thereof. The wider portions of the slots at. the bottomensure increased water flow at the lower part of the mold.

The upper end of the cooling jacket I3 is provided with an annularflange 30 against which the watersealing gasket 3| may be compressed bythe annular ring 32- which is interconnected with the annular flange 30by bolts 33.

The gasket 31 is carried in the recess 35 of flange 30 so that whencompressed it is forced against the side of the mold ill to complete thewater seal. The flange 30 may be extended to form the cover 23 of thewater intake and outlet chambers 20 and 2|.

The water jacket i3 is secured. in any suitable manner as by welding tothe horizontal. support member 38 which in turn is secured inanysuitable manner to the base I2. The right-hand side of the supportmember 38 (with respect to Figure 3) is extended to form the bottom ofthe water intake and outlet chambers 20 and 2|.

The support 38 is compressed in any suitable manner against the annulargasket 40 held in the annular retainer 4| mounted on the. water outletring 42 for the cooling boot 43 below the mold III.

The water outlet ring 42 and the cooling boot 43 have no relation to mynovel horizontal cooling system and method which constitutes the essence of the present invention but are included, as hereinafter morespecifically described, in or der to showa complete deviceandtherelation of my novel cooling method to other elements of a completesystem.

The two gaskets 3| and 40- thus serve to confine the cooling water inthe cooling chamber i4 defined bywater jacket l3 and mold l0.Appropriate reinforcing elements 44 may be provided between the coolingjacket i3 and the flange 30 and similar elements 45 may beprovidedbegels-an frozen in its passage-through the mold to emerge from thebottom'thereof'a's a continuous billet or casting. I

It thus becomes important to obtain high speed heat exchange between themetal within the mold I and the cooling fluid in the channel I4 definedby the water jacket I3 around the mold I0. For this purpose, water isforced at high pressure through intake pipe 50 into the water intakechamber 20. The water in the waterlintake chamber then is forced throughthe tapered slot in a counterclockwise direction with respect to Figure4 around the mold It in the cooling chamber I4, being prevented fromnowing in a clockwise directio'n'bvthe partition 24 which extends almostup to the mold I0, being separated therefrom only by the small .gap2411..

When the water completes its counterclockwise circuit including chamberI4," it exits 'thro'ug'hthe tapered slot 26 into the water outletchamber 2I, being prevented againfrom recircuiting through the chamberI4 by the partition 24'.

The water which has thus cooled the mold'IO now exhausts through theexhaust pipe 52; and may, since it has not been heated very much,.beused for other cooling purposes such as cooling the casting A below themold III in the boot 43 as hereinafter described. I

The bafiies I5 ensure ,sufficientturbulence in the horizontally movingsheet of water to. bring every part of the water into contact with themold I0 in order to provide an'e'flicient heat exchange.

- The water is forced through at high speed so that the cooling fluidiscontinuously replaced at its original cooling temperature bynew.volumes of water, andso that the temperature-of the .water does not riseappreciably in its counterclockwise travel around the mold withrespectto Figure 4. This ensures uniformity of cooling throughout the entireperimeter of the mold while the utilization of a continuous sheet ofwater entering simultaneously at all vertical points on the mold ensuresuniform cooling for the full height of the mold.

While the exit slot 26 need not necessarily be tapered, the-exit slot 26is preferably tapered in the same manner as the entrance slot 25,

The arrangement of the baffles I5 and their spacing with respect to themold wall- I0 and water jacket I3= is more clearly. indicated in Figures5 and 6 wherein the relative depth of the baffle 5 with respect to thewater chamber I4 as above described is more clearly shown.

Thus, it will be seen from the foregoing that this simplified structurepermits the primary object of my invention to be achieved; that is, thewater enters the vertical circular channel or chamber I4 through thevertical tapered slot 25, moves horizontally around the mold I0 andexits through slot 26. Since the temperature. is. not appreciablyraised, no danger of warping of the partition 24 .is incurred by reasonof extreme dif ferences in temperature on opposite sides of partition24.

In fact, the exhaust water is sufiiciently cool so that it may be usedas the cooling fluid in the boot 43. The boot 43 surrounds the portionof the billet A below the mold Ill. The billet A as it emerges from themold I0 is, of course, in frozen or solidified form and requires nofurther support.

The boot is supported in any suitable manner as for instance by beingsuspended from the basic support'IL'the diameter of theboot43 beingsubstanti'ally larger than the diameter of the billet A 8 in order'to'provide the cooling chamber between the boot 43 and the billet A.

The upper end of the water chamber 00 is sealed by annular gasket 40above described. The lower'end of the boot 43 is supported in anysuitable manner as by the annular flange supporting structure 83 whichcarries the annular water intake ring 64;

The annular water intake ring 64 has a lower flange 65 which extendsclose to but not in contact with the billet A. A flexible gasket 66 iscompressed between the annular flange 65 and the securing ring: 61, saidgasket 66 having a smaller internal diameter than'the' billet A so thatthe billet A forces its way past the gasket 66 as shown in Figures 1, 3,and 7.

e The gasket 56 thus provides the lower seal for the. waterchamber'fill.

' The boot 43"c'lears the bottom flange 85 of the annular water intakering 64 to provide the annular gap 70] ,through which water may passfrom the annular intake ring into the chamber 60. The exhaust water fromthe outlet chamber 2I of the mold cooling apparatus is connected to theannular intake ring 54 for. the chamber 60 defined by the boot 4'3.

Water enters the annular intake ring 64 and passesthrough the gap 10 upinto the cooling chamber 60. The water is heated by the heat exchan ewhich then occurs and rises up to the plurality of openin s 12 (Figures1, 3 and 8) in the boot 43, whichopenings communicate with the annularwater outlet ring 42 carried by the boot 43. The water thus used forheat exchange in' the lower chamber 50 defined by the boot 03 ther'rexhausts through exhaust outlet 15.

J The efficiency of my novel cooling system and method is thusemphasized by the fact that the exhaust water from the mold coolingchamber may stillbe used efficiently to cool the billet in the boot.43below the mold I0.

. In Figures 9 and 10, I have shown the adaptation of ..,my inventionutilizing the principles of uniformhorizontal flow of a volume of waterat a rapid rate in continuous casting molds which are not necessarily ofcircular or approximately circular cross-section.

In Figure 9 I have shown a cross-section through acontinuous castingmold adapted to form a plurality. of slabs, the said mold beingadjustable for dilferent widths of slabs.

The vertical cooling plates I00, IIJI each have an inner copper wallI02, I02 adapted to form the sides, of the mold and an outer wall I03which need not necessarily be of copper but which may be of steel. Eachof the plates I00, IOI has a vertical .water inlet tube I05 and anopposite vertical water outlet tube I06.

The water inlet tube I05 in each plate is connected to the. interiorchamber I08 in each plate by the narrowyertical slot IIO. Water forcedunder pressureinto tubes I05 exits therefrom through-slots I I0 into thechambers I08. The water flows horizontallyacross the vertical chambers I08 into the vertical exit slots II2 into the exhaust tubes I00.

Appropriate bafilesmay be provided, if desired,.in chambers I08 toensure sufiicient turbulen'ce. The vertical slots H0, H0 may be tapered,as previously described in connection with thefslots of the structuresof Figures 1 to 6, in order to ensure uniform flow of water or even anincreasedjfiow of water at the bottom.

.The actual 1 individual molds H5, H6 are formed by the copper wallsI20, I20 and the graphite separators H1, H8, H9. The plates I00, llllare clamped together on opposite sides of the vertical graphiteseparators H1, H8, and I 19 in any suitable manner as by bolts I20tightened through openings in lugs 12!, I21 extending from the ends ofplates and 101.

In this case, the cooling occurs only at the sides of the slabs in moldsI and H0. This cooling operation is, however, sufiicient in the case ofrectangular slabs of this type, first, because the slabs are relativelyvery narrow and the chilled portions of the slabs on opposite sides willcrystallize toward each other very rapidly and second because cooling atthe ends of each slab would result in greater shrinkage at the ends ofthe slabs owing to the fact that for each unit area at the ends of theslabs, there will be approximately several times the amount of coolingsurface than for each unit area at the sides of the slabs.

Thus, for instance, in a slab 4" wide, the end inch which is four squareinches in transverse section would have 6" of the perimeter cooled,while a center inch which is four square inches in transverse sectionwould have only 2" of its perimeter cooled.

In any event, in narrow slabs of this type the crystallization of theouter surface toward the center is so rapid that cooling at the endsbecomes unnecessary.

In Figure 10, I have shown an adaptation of the structure of Figure 9 inthe formation of billets of various cross-sectional arrangements. Thus,the plates 200, 201 of the inner copper surface 202 and the outer wall203 which may be of any suitable material as, for instance, steel.

The walls 202 and 203 define the cooling chambers 208. Water enters thecooling chambers 208 through the vertical slot 2H), and the water inletpipe 205 moves horizontally through the chambers 200 and exits throughthe vertical slots 212 in the outlet pipes 206. The plates 200 and aretied together by bolts 220 on opposite sides of graphite blocks 211,218, 219.

The mold walls 202 in the opposite plates 200, 201 are recessed as at230, 231 to conform to the cross-section of the billets to be made.Similarly, the graphite blocks 21', 218, and 219 are recessed as at 232to conform to the cross-section of the billet to be made. The coolingoperation is identical with that described in connection with Figure 9.

Thus, it will be seen that my novel principle of uniform cooling of thevertical mold by horizontal flow at high speed through the water jacketaround the mold is applicable to the formation of billets by continuouscasting operations, irrespective of the cross-sectional arrangement ofthe billets.

By the means herein described, therefore, a simplified highly eflicientcooling system is provided particularly adapted to a continuous castingmold and so arranged that maximum heat exchange occurs by reason of theuniform horizontal rapid flow of the large volume of water.

By this means uniform cooling of the entire mold is obtained over theentire perimeter and vertical height of the mold thereby permitting auniform cooling operation of the entire contents of the interior of themold.

In the foregoing, I have described my invention solely in connectionwith preferred illustrative embodiments thereof. Since many variationsand modifications of my invention should now be obvious to those skilledin the art, I prefer to be bound not by the specific disclosures hereincontained but only by the appended claim.

The term continuous casting refers to processes known in the art assemi-continuous casting as well as to continuous casting. The twoprocesses are essentially the same. The semicontinuous casting operationis intermittent because no mechanical means is provided for cut-' tingthe billets to length. In the continuous casting operation, mechanicalmeans are provided for cutting the billets to length.

In the following claim, therefore, the term continuous casting refers toa process where the length of the billet is greater than the length ofthe mold.

I claim:

A cooling system for a vertical mold, said cooling system comprising ajacket outside of and concentric with said mold defining a tubularchamber surrounding said mold; a source of cooling fluid under pressure;a hollow connecting member connecting said source of cooling fluid andsaid chamber; said hollow connecting member including a vertical inletslot in said jacket extending substantially the full vertical height ofsaid chamber, said tubular chamber guiding said cooling fluid throughsaid chamber in a substantially horizontal path from said vertical inletslot to said vertical outlet slot, said inlet slot being tapered from arelatively narrow opening at the top to a relatively wider opening atthe bottom and vertical bailies carried by said jacket extending intosaid chamber for increasing the turbulence of said cooling fluid as itflows through said chamber; said bafiles being relatively wider at theirupper ends and relatively narrower at their lower ends.

IRVING ROSSI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,988,471 Arnold Jan. 22, 19352,145,438 Thulin Jan. 31, 1939 2,154,234 Eppensteiner Apr. 11, 19392,176,990 Crampton Oct. 24, 1939 2,176,991 Crampton et a1. Oct. 24, 19392,187,720 Williams Jan. 23, 1940 2,424,640 Spooner July 29, 19472,428,657 Falk et a1 Oct. 7, 1947

